Bag closing machine



June 23,v 1936.

P. G. scr-n E/HWER` 1 045,254

BAG CLSING MACHINE Filed Nov. 17, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS June23, 1936 P. G. scHLEMMER BAG CLOSING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 a. \I 5 lG Z 6 2 6 ro HH w .Ihw o0 MW l: a .Jnff .5 |M I i n o0 C L n Z I n 1". ll l I m L- lv n 5 l .l ro a O 6 Z 7. Z J 3 ,7. L 3 Z H.

7 7 3 anw oJ F 3 4 mw. Q... AJ 5 W... /f 5 Il .D 4f.d..l| I lllr. I I IHI. .Illlul \\1 3 lllmwlll.. dln. wm w 5 umu Hl nur 1|. l I l Il l /IIILI. "l l Ill .WA MIMI... rb v 0 6 l I a ../LL LZ ab. 7. 55 5 aan A@ 5ngwn@ 23, 1936. Fl G SCHLEMMER 2,045,254

BAG CLOSING MACHINE vFiled NOV. 17, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 5' nl u (Hlm, y49 June 23, 1936.

PfG. scHLEMMi-:R

BAG CLOSING MACHINE Filed NOV. 17, 1955 Patented June 23,1936 Y.2,045,254

UNITED rs-"LIAT.Es v.PATENT OFFICE W 2;'o45e5ii BAG CLOSING MCHINE PhilG. Schlemmer, Nanu'et, NRY.; assigner, by

A esne assignments, to yRose' 'Barbara Henderson Application November.u, is'sazseriai No. 698,383

- 4 claims. w1-.-93-6i My invention relates 'tol a new Vand improved theiaps 2 and 4 have been previously bent into bag closing machine. thehorizontal position.

One of the objects of vmy invention sto pro- The `carton l is providedwith a liner bag L vide an improved machine for closing a bag `w.`r1ich; carn be made of paper or any other suitwhich is located within anouter'carton which V'is able material. When the carton is pushedinto 5made of cardboard or the like. lthe machinesaid liner L has Yanupstanding top Another object of my invention is to provide .a portionwhich projects above the body of the new and improved method or systemfor `closing -cartonso as rto form an open mouth of rectanguthe mouth ofa liner .bag ofn said type, while closlar cross section. lo ing the endaps of the outer cardboard ccm-- Y Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, thesegures 'show 10 tainer. f three spreader devices 6, la and 1b. Thespread- Other objects of my invention will beset forth .er devices laand'Ib can be moved towards each in the following description and drawingswhich other and away. 'from each other, so as to slide illustrate apreferred embodiment thereof. upon the, adjacent surface of the member6. l5 Fig. 1 is a front elevation vof the improved ma- When the members'la and Tb abut each other :15 chine. l e their combined width is equalto the width of the Fig. 2 is an outside elevation along the line member6. Said devices are inserted into the 2-2 of Fig. 1. v open mouth of theliner L while the members 1.a Fig. 3 is a sectional View on the .line3-3 of and lb abut each other. Fig. 1. i shown in Fig. 1, the bottom endof the mem- 20 Fig. 4 is a detail rear elevation of the spreader berv 6may be of less width than the Vbody theremechanism. of.,s o that saidbottom end can readily enter the Fig. 5 is an elevationof .the carton.fand liner, o penfmouthof the liner bag. said liner having beenpreviously lled. When the spreader elements have been inserted machineoperates upon thi's device. into theopen mouth of the liner bag, theymem- 2.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of Fig. 5. bers 1a and -lb are moved away fromeach other,

Fig. 7 is a, detail elevation, partially in section, as shown in Fig. `8in order to outwardly bend the showing how the spreaders have entered@the end naps` of the liner bag, and to downwardly mouth of the linerand are resting upon-,the top turn the end flaps 3 and 5 of the cartonso that of the body of the carton.j said flaps of the liner bag andcarton are ln- 30 Fig. 8 is a plan View of Fig. 7.. :clined to thevert-ical axis of the carton. Said Fig. 9 is a. view which is .Similar`to f1, and members 'la and 1b are moved in a linear direcsaid Fig. 9shows one ofthe yshoes whichare ilsed tion, that is, they are movedbodily, instead of for closing a flap of the liner. I `being turnedvaround pivots.

UU Fig. l0 is a plan viewof Fig.;9,:the represe.nta While the spreadersare'held in the position .35 tion of the` shoe having been .omitted in`orderfto shown in Fig. 8, a shoe 8 is moved to the posimore clearlyillustrate the .flap has been tion shown in Fig. 9 y.in order toinwardly and bent down by meansof said shoe. l, f downwardlybend voneside of the mouth of rthe Fig. 11 is a detail elevation,v partially infsec- L and thus form an inner. 4closure flap. ySince 10 tien, showingthe operative-position einem shoes. the members 1a and 1b are in theirdisiending Fig. 12 is a. view similar to Fig. ;11, .the repreposition,this inward bending of a side flap of sentations of the shoes. having'omitted, in the' mouth of the liner bag causes one half of order to moreclearly show the flaps. Y. each end flap to be bent inwardly, so as toform r Referring to Figs. *5 and .6., acartbn l is. protriangular-foldsin said .end naps, which extend 45 4a vided, and this carton is' madeof. 4camlboard -or ,substantially to the central lines of said endflaps. any other suitable material.y This carton .may This inwardbending of the vside ap produces .a be of rectangularcrossvsecti'onanditis .provided rst closure flap which is perpendicularto the with four end flaps, '2,3, 4 andi.` For convenvcommon axis of thecarton and of the liner bag.

0 ience it can be assumed thatlthe carton 'i yis-hel'd Another shoe 9 isthen moved against the oppo- 50 with its axis vertical.A L 1 site iwailof the mouthcf the linerbag in order to Fig. 6 shows the flaps 2 and'4in `horizontal inwardly bend the secofnd side ap of the liner positionand the 'faps 3 and v"5 fare shown 'in the b'a'g and form asecondvclosure flap which overlaps vertical or upstandingpositin." i the4first .mentioned closure flap. The shoe 9 also 55 v whentrieicartcn.is.:pushedintentie machine, forms triangular folds Yinthezend flaps, so that .55

Cil

said end aps now have the triangular shapes of Fig. 11.

At a proper time in the movement of the second shoe 9, the spreaderelements are withdrawn from the mouth of the bag, and the shoes 8 and 9nally reach the relative position shown in Fig. 11, so that the secondclosure iiap is firmly pressed between said shoes.

The shoes 8 and 9 are thenwithdrawn, vthus leaving the liner bag withtwo overlapping closure aps along the wide edges thereof.

flaps I0 and Ina. Y

The end flaps 3 and 5 of the carton canr now be moved to their closingposition and this will simultaneously inwardly bend the flaps I0 andIlla into closing position. The ilaps 2 and 4 are then overlapped in theusual manner over said aps 3 and 5, and the sealing is completed byconnecting the flaps 2 and 4 by any suitable "adhesive or the like.

It will be noted that this method of closing the combined containersaves several operations `and simplies the mechanism because it is notnecessary to inwardly bend the flaps I0 andV Illa. The iinal closing ofthe ilaps 2, 3, 4, and 5 can be done by any suitable machine.

Referring to Fig. 3, the cartons I are supported upon the upper run of asuitable conveyer belt C which is intermittently actuated by any suit-'able mechanism.V Said belt C may be provided with suitable means forholding the cartons thereon, so that each intermittent movement of saidbelt brings a carton into accurate registration with the spreadermechanism and other parts. Such means for holding the cartons and formoving the belt are not illustrated herein as they form no part of theinventionper se.

YReferring to Fig. 4, the spreader' 6 has the shape illustrated therein,and the wide upper end of said spreader 6 is mounted' so as to slide invertical grooves I I of guides I2. The down- .ward movement of spreader6 is limited by-stop pins I2a. As shown in Fig. 3, the upper--end of thespreader 6 is provided with a boss I4. `A screw I5'engages this bossI4.V The shank of the screw I5 passes Vthrough a vertical slot in aslide arm I'I. This slot makes it possible to move the arm I'I relativeto said screw I5. The iupper end of the arm I'I is provided with a slide`head which slides in vertical grooves provide f'ina guide I8.

The arm I1 is moved up and down by means of a lever I9, one of whoseslotted ends is turn- "ably connected to the head of the arm I'I by'jmeans of a pivot screw 20. Y The lever I9 is pivotally connected tothe frame F o f the machine by means of a pivot screw 2|. Thisscrewvengages a rod 2 Ia which is connected to F by a bolt 2lb. Y Theouter slottedV end of the lever I9 is turn- Vably connected by means ofa screw 22 to a hori- {'zontal rod 23 which passes through and which isconnected to the head 24 of a vertically movable rod 25. The rod 25 isslidably mounted in 'bearings 26 and 26a, which are suitably connectedto the frame of the machine. t

The tension spring 21 has its lower end connected to the bearing 26a.and its upper end is connected to the pin of acollar 28, which issecured to the rod 25.

'The lower end of the rod 25 is provided with a roller 29, andthetension spring 21 `causes the .roller 29ste be forced against a cam. 30.

The?? liner bag now has upstanding enclV triangular f theblockv 33b fastto slide arm I1.

Referring to Fig. 4, the spreader element 6 is provided at its rearsurface with transverse bars 3|. The screws 32 have their shanks passingthrough lateral slots which are provided in the spreader elements Ia and'Ib and the Shanks of said screws are connected to the lateral bars 3|.The heads of said screws 32 are wider than the slots of thespreaderelements Ia and 'Ib so that said spreader elements Ia and Ib are guidedfor lateral sliding movement upon the .adjacent surface of the element6.

Arms 33 are pivotally connected to the upper ends of the spreaderelements 'Ia and 1b by means of pivot members 33a. The screw 34 holds Apivot screw 33e passes through the upper slotted ends of said arms 33,which cross each other, and the shank of'said screw 33e is connected tothe vertically movable member II, and to the block 33h, which moves inunison with member II.

Hence, when the member I1 is moved upwardly from the position shown inFig. 4, said mem- 'ber I1 first has a limited sliding movementrelative-to the member I5, and during said limited sliding'm'ovement thetoggle arms 33 are turned, soas to laterally slide the members 'Ia andIb y towards each other.

WhenA said members la and 1b abut each other, the arm I1 simultaneouslyraises the members 6 and 'la and 1b.

During the downward movement of the arm AQI 1;, there is little ornofriction in the movement ofthe member 6,- so that the members 6 and la.

and'lb move downwardly together, without any `lateral movement of themembers Ia and 1b.

The stop pins I2a` limit the downward movement of the member 6. Hence,when the downward movement of member 6 is stopped, the further'downwardmovement of the member I'I.

causes the lateral spreading movement of the "members vIa and 1b, whilethe slotted lower end of the member I1 moves relative to the screw I5.Referring to Fig. 3, the shoe 8 is provided with lugs 8a to one of whicha bell-crank lever 35 is pivotally connected. Said bell-crank lever 35and a cooperating link 35a, are pivotally mounted upon pins 36 and 54,which are fixed to the vguides I2.

I8 is connected to the frame plate F by means of rods 39 and screws 40.

'I The upper end of the bell crank lever 35 is connected by means of alink 4I to a bell crank lever 42 which is'pivoted upon a pin 43, whichis also connected to the adjacent guide I2.

- The link 4I can be connected to the adjacent fends of the levers 35and 42 by means of ballsocketjoints, Vso as to permit said members 35and 42 'to move in unison without binding.

The upper end of the bell crank lever 42 is connected by means of a link44, with the upper -end ofthe bell crank lever 45 which is mounted'-upon a 'pivot member 46 which is suitably secured to a. bracket of theframe plate F.

The lower end of the bell crank lever 45 is -pivotally connected to alink 46a and this is connected by means of a ball and socket connectiontoa rodx41 having a roller 48 which abuts a cam 49.

The cam 49 is mounted upon and turns in unison with a jack-shaft` 5I!which is provided ,-,Witha sprocket Wheel 5I, which is operated by 75means of a chain 52. A compression spring 21a, bears against collar 28aof rod 41, so that roller 48 is pressed against cam 49. Rod 41 slides inbearing 41a.

The jack-shaft 50 is thus driven from the main shaft upon which the cam30 is located. As the shaft 50 is continuously turned in the samedirection, the shoe 8 is reciprocated back and forth along a curvedpath.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the shoe 9 is pivotally mounted at the endof a bell-crank lever 53 and an arm 53a which are turnably mounted onpins 54 and 36.

The bell-crank lever 53 is connected by means of a link 55 to a bellcrank lever 56 which is pivotally mounted upon a member 51, which issuitably connected to the adjacent guide I2.

The connection between the link 55 and the levers 53 and 56 may be aball and socket connection.

The bell-crank lever 56 is connected by means of a link 58 to abell-crank lever 59, which is pivotally mounted at 60 to a bracket whichextends from the frame plate F.

The link 58 passes through a suitable opening in the frame plate F.

The lever 59 is connected to a link 6I and this is pivotally connectedto a rod 62, which can slide up and down in a bearing 63 which isconnected to the frame plate F.

The tension spring 64 downwardly urges the rod 62 so that the roller 65abuts the cam 66, which is mounted upon the main shaft S.

The main shaft S has a sprocket 61 over which the chain 52 passes. Themain shaft S is driven by a belt B or by any other suitable means.

As shown in Fig. 1, the frame plate F is supported upon a bracket 68,which can be vertically adjusted by means of slots 69 through whichsuitable clamping members can be passed in order to clamp said bracket68 to a suitable base.

The entire machine can therefore be adjusted vertically with respect tothe conveyer belt C in order to allow for boxes of different heights.

When a carton is located in proper position, the cam 36 first upwardlymoves rod 25, so that member I1 is depressed, the spreader elements aremoved downwardly until their tapered ends enter the open mouth of theliner bag, and the spreader elements 1a and 1b are then moved laterally,when the element 6 has its shoulder abutting the stop pins I2a. Figs. 1and 4 show the spreader elements 1a and 1b slid apart to the maximumdistance. While this is being done, the flaps 2 and 4 are heldhorizontal by the rods shown in Fig. 6.

While the spreader elements are thus actuated, the cam 49 causes theactuation of shoe 8, so that said shoe has been moved to the positionshown in Fig. 9, when the spreader elements 1a and 1b have reached theposition shown in Fig. 10.

However, due to the limited free relative movement between the membersI1 and I5, the spreader elements enter the open mouth of the liner,before the shoe 8 substantially forms the flaps in the adjacent sidewall of the liner, and in the adjacent end walls of the liner.

The spreader elements 6 and 1a and 1b can be made thin so that the endflaps of the liner L are substantially closed by the formation oftriangular sub-flaps therein.

After the shoe 8 has been moved to the operative position which isillustrated in Fig. 9, the cam 66 causes the movement of the shoe ofshoe 9.

As shown in Fig. 1, there is a lag of 90 between the cam 39 and the cam66.

While I have referred to a bag having a rec- 5 tangular cross-section,the invention is not to be limited to any particular shape of bag.Hence, whenever I refer to a bag having a rectangular cross-section inthe claims, said claims are not to be limited to the use of a device inconnection 10 with this specific type of bag.

Likewise whenever I refer to shoes for inwardly bending certain portionsof the mouth of the bag, I desire to include any equivalent means foraccomplishing the same general result. l5

As indicated in Fig. 6, the flaps 2 and 4 may be held in horizontalposition by suitable rods., while the spreader means and the shoes areoperated.

I have shown a preferred embodiment of my 20 invention, but it is clearthat numerous changes and omissions can be made without departing fromthe spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. For use in closing the open end of a bag, a 25 first spreader elementwhich is adapted to enter said open end, additional spreader elementsconnected to the first spreader element, said additional spreaderelements being laterally movable with respect to each other and withrespect to 30 the first spreader element, and means for moving all saidspreader elements in unison and for moving said additional spreaderelements relative to each other and relative to the first spreaderelement.

2. For use in closing the open end of a bag, a first spreader element,guide means for guiding the movement of said first spreader element,additional spreader elements connected to said first spreader element,said additional spreader elements being laterally movable with respectto each other and with respect to the first spreader element, an arm foractuating the first spreader element, said arm having a limited movementrelative to said first spreader element, and additional arms pivotallyconnected to said first mentioned arm and to said additional spreaderelements.

3. In a device for closing the open end of a bag which has a rectangularcross-section, movable spreading means adapted to enter said mouth andto oppositely spread two of the end flaps of said mouth and to hold theend flaps sides upstanding, folding means adapted to inwardly bend theside flaps of said mouth in overlapping relation and to inwardly bendthe corners of said end iiaps, and mechanism for operating said foldingmeans before said spreading means have been moved to inoperativeposition.

4. A device for closing an open end of a bag, comprising movablespreader means adapted to enter into and downwardly into a bag mouth andspread two end flaps of the mouth of said bag in opposite directions, amovable folding member adapted to inwardly bend a side flap of the end Vof said bag and mechanism for moving said spreader means into the end ofsaid bag and for operating said spreader means and for operating saidfolding member while said spreading means are in the bag and inoperative position. 70

PHIL G. SCHLEMMER.

